Courtside View: Emotional homecoming for Pierce, KG

Sunday

Jan 26, 2014 at 10:18 PMJan 27, 2014 at 11:05 AM

By Scott SouzaDaily News staff

BOSTON — The lights dimmed and the date flashed on the TD Garden Jumbotron — July 31, 2007.The day that changed the course of history for the Boston Celtics.That was the day Kevin Garnett came to town and stood alongside Ray Allen and Paul Pierce for the first time. It was a sweltering summer day when the heat radiated off Causeway Street outside the arena, and the sight of the three future Hall of Famers set a suffering fan base ablaze as it collectively watched the press conference inside of it.No one smiled more that day than Pierce. The supremely talented, occasionally troubled, and increasingly tormented-from-losing star had nearly been traded in 2005 and served notice in 2006 that he would soon ask out if he didn't receive help in resurrecting a storied franchise gone astray.Some of that help came when Allen came from the Seattle SuperSonics on Draft Night 2007, but the big move came six weeks later when Garnett joined his childhood friend. Garnett and Pierce went on to win a championship together in 2008, came within one win of another in 2010, and went to Game 7 of the Eastern Conference finals in 2012.A few weeks shy of six years from the first night they stood as Celtics, they were gone to Brooklyn together in a franchise-altering trade. Sunday night, they were back on a night both said was as important to them as any in their careers."This was the toughest game I've ever had to play," said Pierce following an 85-79 Nets victory. "It was tougher than any championship game, any Game 7."The duo was the focus of everyone in the crowd of 18,624 on Sunday. They were cheered loudly during the starting lineup as Celtics PA announcer Eddie Palladino paused for applause and introduced them the way he would have if they were still in green."I think we're always going to bleed green as long as we're playing basketball — as long as we're living," Garnett said, "and then even when they bury us six feet (under). That's just what it's going to be."Garnett received the first video treatment. It took the crowd back through the trade that brought him to Boston, the championship, the highlights, howls and roars, and his declaration of "Anything's Possible!" that became the 17th banner's rally cry."This was by far the hardest day that I've ever had to focus," Garnett said. "This was bigger than when I went back to Minnesota that night."Then it was time for Pierce. The crowd saluted the former captain the way he deserved for all he did for the franchise on his way to becoming its second all-time leading scorer. They cheered for him in a way they didn't always throughout his career in Boston, but in the end embraced him in a way that reaffirmed that no matter where he finishes his career he will always be a Celtic.The Pierce video started with the Antoine Walker partnership, then soared through early highlights, late-game heroics, the Jack Nicholson declaration that "You can't handle the Truth!" and the championship coronation."It's all the great moments that you think of," Pierce said. "It was the difference I was able to make not only on the court, but in the community. You build so much. I was able to change different lives here, be an inspiration in this community."That matters the most to me — the lives you can change. Basketball is great. But it's also being a role model."Pierce then saluted the crowd during a long standing ovation that seemed it would last until July. With Garnett bowing in deference next to him, Pierce soaked it up for everything it was worth.And it was worth a lot.It was worth a lot to the fans desperate to honor the former captain in a way they missed out on doing in the waning moments of his final game as a Celtic. It was worth a lot to the player who came to Boston never expecting it would be a city where he would want to stay, and wound up being traded away from while never expecting to leave.It reaffirmed a bond that should one day culminate with both Garnett's No. 5 and Pierce's No. 34 hanging in the Garden rafters.Where they will always have a home.Scott Souza can be reached at 781-398-8006 or ssouza@wickedlocal. Follow him on Twitter @scott_souza.